Retort



Aug. 11, 1925.

E. G. STONE RETORT 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Sept. 22

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E. G. STONE RETORT 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed Sept. 22, 1924 Patented Aug. 11, 1925. i

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

` RETORT.

Original application filed September 22, 1924, Serial No. 739,167. Divided and this application led March 12, 1925.

.To aZZ'wwm it may concern? Be it known that I, EDWARD GILEs STONE, a subject ot' the King of Great Britain and Ireland, and residing 'at Devonport, Tas- 1nania, Commonwealth of Australia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Retorts, of which the following is u a specification.

This invention is a division of my ap li,- cation Serial No. 739,167, Iiled Septem er 22, 1924, and relates to retort apparatus which is adapted to be heated for the purpose of heating ground shale'carried by such retort apparatus, whereby hydrocarbon oil-gases contained in the shale may be volatilized and conducted from the retort apparatus to a suitable condenser or condensersy and a scrubber or scrubbers to recover incondcnsable gases as well as other products to be derived from the shale, such other I products being subjected if necessary to reiining processes, and the gases being either stored or used immediately for heating purposes. y l

Thou h the invention is intended primarily or treating ground shale it is to-bel understood that it is alsol applicable for use in the retorting of other substances. The invention will, however, be described in connection with -the retorting of ground shale. Any ,suitable grinding A apparatus maybe utilized for pulverizing'the shale so that the latter maybe aiiectedvby heat and the volatile constituents thereofreadily driven oft' without fusion of the shale in dthe'retorting thereof.- y

Referring to the accompanying drawings in which the invention -is illustrated Fig. 1 is a. sectional view of one form of the retort apparatus; Fig. 2 a cross section on line 2 2 Fig. 1; Fig 3 a cross-section on line 33, AFig 1; Fig. 4 a broken sectional view of a `modified form of the retort apparatus; and Figs. 5, 6, 7, and 8 details of means relating to the retort apparatus.

After the shale has been ground it may be fed from a suitable hopper 1' by means of the pipe 2 to the trough or chamber 16 and from such horizontally disposed trough or chamber 16 the shale may be fed by the worm conveyer 17 to a series of inclined vertically arranged pipes or tubes 18 `which are preferably constructed with devices adapted to enable the said tubes to be kept clean. Said tubes l18 are also provided with Serial No. 15,067.

suitable feeding doors whereby shale pass. ing therethrough may be fed from the respective tubes to a vertical retort or re torts 19.

The feeding devices for said tubes 18 may consist of the meansl illustrated in Figs. 5 to 8. Openable doors may be provided for such tubes whereby'the interior thereof may be cleaned. The feeding doors 48 are carried on the bottoms of rods 49 within the tubes 18; such vrods49 may pass through sleeves 50 and theheads of the rods 49 may be fitted with turninghandles 51.` A suitable stuiing box 52 may be furnished. On the bottom of the sleeves 50 is a spider 54. To allow material entering the tubes 18 from the trough 16 to be discharged from said tubes it is only necessary to ease the pinching pink55 and to push vthe rods 49 downwardly from the open lower ends' of the tubes 18 and the material enclosed within the tubes 18 may then fall into the retorts 19. A guide bail 56 may be secured to the bottom f `the tubes 18.

' sections which are made gas tight by any spitable means and they may also be itted lwith removable devices whereby the retorts may be cleaned. Within each of the retorts.

19 is Va worm conveyer Ior conve ers 22 which may be rotated by'any suitab e means, the portion ot' the spindle 23 of the conveyers '22 located in the bottom of the retorts 19 having thereon stirrers or agitators 24 of any suitable design adapted to stirand agitate thefmaterial in the bottom of the retorts. The lower end of the casings 25 for the spindle 23 is also provided with a door 26,adapted to'be opened when required for the purpose of discharging spent shale from the retorts 19 either into a bin or toa hopper 27 or other means from whence it may be carried by gravity to a truck or trucks 28.

At the head of the casings 25 isa hoodor lip 29 over which material carried upwardly by the worm conveyers 22 in the retorts 19 is passed and allowed to descend outside such Acasings 25 and to be received by a cageor `chamber 30 and thereby allowed to be fed to the lower part of the casings 25 of lthe casings 25 over the lips 29 falls into the retorts 19 and is directed to the heating pipes 31 therein. A pipe 32 is provided at the head of the retorts 19 through which the oil-gases extracted from the shale are exhausted and transferred to the condenser or condensers 61 and scrubber or scrubbers 62. The pipe 32 may be connected to the retorts 19 by pipes 18, as in Figs. 2 and 4.

For the purpose of enabling the retorts 19 to be heated by hot gases which may consist of certain of the incondensable gases derivedfrom the distillation of the shale in the retorts 19 or of other hot gases the steel cylinders 2() are fitted with a series of open ended pipes 3l which may be renewed in c: se any of them may be damaged by burning or otherwise. The said pipes surround the upper portion of the casings 25 and the material which is being treated in the retorts 19 is subjected to the heat of the pipes 31 and the volatile constituents of the shale are thus driven olf.

The retorts 19 may be heated through any suitable heating arrangements; if required hot gases may be passed from the flue 40, thence through the pipes 31, into the flue 41 from whence they may pas's to atmosphere or otherwise. Certain of the incondensable gases derived from the retorted shale may be utilized for supplying fuel for heating the retorts.

It is preferred to direct the oil-gases distilled from the shale in thel separate retorts to separate portions of the condenser or condensers 61 and scrubber or scrubbers v62 so that the separate oil-gases will not mingle.

.What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. Retorting apparatus comprising a series of vertically arranged retorts adapted to be heated, such retorts being in communication at their head with a series of pipes through which material may be fed to such retorts, open ended pipes passing through such retorts and leading to heat conveying flues whereby heat may be conveyed to and through such pipes, screw conveyer and stirrer means in said retorts whereby material is stirred and elevated in said retorts and brought into contact with said pipes to enable distillation o'f volatile constituents from said material, adjustable means to enable spent material to be discharged from said ,retorts, and means for discharging volatile constituents from said retorts.

2. Retorting apparatus as set forth in claim 1 in which a casing is provided for the spindle of the conveyer means and the head of such casing is furnished with a distributing lip whereby material elevated by such conveyer means is discharged from such casing.

3. Retorting apparatus as set forth in claim 1 in which the said retorts are lined with steel.

4. Ietorting apparatus as set forth in claim 1, in which the feed pipes for the material are inclined and are in communication with screw eonveyer means at their head, each of said pipes being fitted with an adjustable spindle carrying at its bottom a door for closing the lower end of the pipe, the material being fed to the retorts when said doors are opened on operating the spindles to remove the doors out of Contact with the bottom of said pipes.

5. Retorting apparatus as claimed in claim 1, including screw conveyor means for feeding the material to be treated into the upper ends of the feed pipes, each of said pipes being provided with an adjustable spindle carrying at its lower end a door for closing the lower end of the pipe with which it is associated, a sleeve arranged in each pipe and surrounding the spindle therein, aspider arranged in the pipe and connected to said sleeve, and a pinching pin for maintaining the spindle in proper position to insure the closure of the door in relation to the bottom of the feed pipe.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

. EDWARD GILES STONE. 

